Mouthpiece feeding and severing machine



Oct. 1, 1957 H. s. KROHNE MOUTHPIECE FEEDING AND SEVERING MACHINE FiledJune so, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

INVENTOR HANS KROHNE ATToRNl-iY Oct. 1, 1957 H. G. KROHNE 7 2,808,105

MOUTHPIECE FEEDING AND SEVERING MACHINE Filed June 30, 1955 Sheets-Sheet2 ATTORNEY MOUTHPIECE FEEDING AND SEVERING MACHINE Filed June so, 1955H. G. KROHNE Oct. 1, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 'INVENT HANS G. KRO

BY 7M 5 EQ? A y? ATTORNEY -MU I HPIECE FEEDING ANDSEVERING MACHINE HansG. Krohne, Richmond, V a,, assignor toA ne -ican Machine & FoundryCompany, acorporation of'New Jersey .Anrli atiqnJuu fill, 71. .5. Schem-$9,1 4

14 Claims. c1. 1-64-61 This inven io relates t ann atg ,tfQ f eding a eerin mul pl len {m uthp e e mate :an seuering -said lengths intosubdivisions of predetermined length.

Itis common practice in the cigarette manufacturing art to manufacturemouthpiece-and filter plu g material in sextuple lengths to facilitatethandlin g. .These sextuple lengths are subdivided into :smaller-,segrnents at .the time theylareltoibe incorporatedteithcninto acigarette rod or united with a cut length ofcigarette rod :to vmakemouthpiece cigarettes.

,In various devices that have been devised .for subdividing multiplelengths .of mouthpiece material, .it has beenl found that the sextuplelengths ofmouthp iece material are notall oflthe same length. Therefore,any,a;xial f eding of such lengths which aretdependentupon one sextuple,length pushing ,a preceding ;.s'e xtuple length to -.a cut-61f stationwhere predetermined lengths of .mouthpiecematerial are cut from themultiple length, any errors thatprevail tend to become cumulative..Qonseguently, seve e leng h a no a ay o thc same s ze T i obviously, isun desirable since it interferes with the proper functioning of amachinemaking mouthpiece cigarettes by forwarding mouthpieces to themachine which .areof subnor mal size, which will result in the ma chinesbecom ing jammed. .It also resultsincigarettesbeingmQImfactured whichare defective, in thatthe n outhpieces areof the incorrect size.

*It is an ohjectof this invention to provide an apparatus, for feedingmultiple lengths .of mouthpiece material, which will becompact in size.

A f h n Q t i v a Qnion viq a impl ifie d fe ed of multiple 'lengthsofmouthpiece naterial wherein the operating mechanism will belsimpliiiedand y will avoid'the a umul ion 9 errm inthesgb r sion being severedfrom the multiple lengths of mouthpiece material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fluted dr'um f e mul ls t q a iit zpi qerma ia n a rq a ns pu h i a na asiie Flags ex endinfrom the periphery thereof to successively advance a length ofmouthpiece material along a'fluteto a cuuofi to i idi d Said .r a t l ln th af equ ,ssbs v tipns- Itis an object fthis invention to subdivide amultiple length of filteringmaterial into filte rplugs of equal lengthready for insertion at the ends of individual lengths" of cigarettematerial or cigarette rod.

Other objects and 5 features of the :invention will appear as ;thedescription of the (particular physical t-embodiment selected :to,illustrate the invention progresses. In {the accompanying, drawings,\whichb form .:a part QfgiIhiS SPQQi' t cat cnal ls ch ractcr te r ereqeih ezhee sa nli dst corresponding parts throughout .the seueralvieviis which malgeupdhedrawings.

-1 ir n i a a a flut dmnmhpieq iee 1 41mm an s ug e m h ism shown :incon unc ion .w t suitahl qpp and .traastennis nited States Patent Etc 2.i i s c ona .side lev n c the teedmlunge mechanism.

3 is a side icnpar ywinis ct ann the ec inf; d um nd .feed plungeryandtheir assqqitt fid .drivi echanisms.

igs. .e d.cl at onu hc si n rticuq he eed and plunger dr n mech nism taen 9 mm f Fig. 3.

Fi -V .1 als a .se tiqna end el on o th driving mec ani m ta nomlinefi-ficfiFiaS- Fis- 6 i a ot m" e ti nalmd .e a i n th d v ngmechanism taken on line .6-6 QfJ'ElgJB.

M h ce edin and.c t i ..mach n consi t of a'fluted feeding drum'14intowhich seXtuple lengths qf mouthpiece material aredeposited. Anysuitable" device c l b use t e os a ex gpl jl st .Q mouthp cmaterialiinto each of the flutes of my fiuteddrurn l such asthestructure shown in co-pending application of George "DearsleypSerial No.509?;293, filed 'May 18, 19 55 ;For purposes of illustratingtheinvention Thave shown how a simple'hopper -10 can be used for thispurpose wherein a balfle plate 12 is employed for allowing a meteredsupply of:sextuplelength'mouthpieces Mgto slide or roll toward thefluted drum '1-4. A portion of the periphery of the fluted drum-1 4-ispositionedat-the open end of-t'ne hopper lilso as-to allow a sext-uplelength of mouthpiece material tofall-i-ntoeach-0f the fluted pockets 1-6as they move pastthe open-end of/the hopper 10.

Thefiuted drum 1-4 is intermittently driven so as to successivelypresent a .fiute carrying -a sextuple length of mouthpiece inline-withcut-off station E. At'this station E the sextuple length ofmouthpiece material is intermittently advanced along the length of theflute a -predetermined distanceequalsto-a=predetermined length ofmouthpiecematerial at aitime untila sextuple lengthmas been completelysubdivided and ejected from the fiute.

This 'feeding process .is accomplishe'd by the viutermit tent,reciprocation and rotation of .the feeding barrel .18. The feedingbarrel @1815 provided -.with six 5(6) =radially extendingfeeding lugsQatlwhich are-circumferentially and lengthwise vspaced :from .each.other on said abarrel .18. These feeding lugs :24) .a-re intermittently,reciprocated and successiv ly e gag with: he-end Qfethe multipletlength.of mouthpiece v rnaterial and advance .it along 5 the flute 716to pus x h e d ng e dcf them ut piec materialia predeermined di tanchrough :th :at n ed ledger :tube :211. Ibi pr determ ne (distanc i s queto the z ength of m thp ec er ahsi sired oqbennitedwith-mendccigerettehe ead n ero -9 h imu is :lensthnf rnquthaieqesm te i tthe iete e zb ia uit blelt iit -213- After an div dua enethtq imqut nie eimteua she be n -se ere fwm h leddinse of th 'mit t pl leng f mat-li as mter al t multipl l n h 1 c (mouthie ematsria i A ien again;asivan esz-ae imila ts is Thi -.sai se v ha s aes i aa q 'mou h i mate ia its epyh iin oton sa t ?r qve v nsra kst 10 aissitahl QQiQ -YQ T- 0 llu trat thi ve ti n hav u ed :a mouthpiece conveyor. similar to that. disclosed ithe on s n g as wi 9 .Q WaId Jii sma Seria .No- 5 05,605 ,.filed May 3,1955 's convey0r.may. cqnsis t 0 1 d s 2: ?car yinaapluna itm o equalsna di ee e Q rec c e e1 Tlil dis i inte m te y ctated t n t ms r lati ahi i h th mgv m n tlr iflme firum t4 .andt h lte i gh rrqh fi spamirritan -at empted? q i qce viag n sitio t rece v a a q t housing 36.Sleeve member 34 is rotatably supported by a conventional ball bearing38, the inner race of which is clamped between a flange of a shaft 46and a conventional ball bearing lock nut 44 engaging with a threadedportion of shaft 46. The outer race of the ball bearing 38 is secured tothe end of sleeve member 34 by means of a suitable clamp collar 48.

The rotation of drum cam 28 effects, through the connection justmentioned, an axial reciprocating motion of the actuating shaft 46.Actuating shaft 46 also carries a sleeve member 50 provided with anelongated slot 52 which engages with a roller 54 pivotally secured tosaid actuating shaft 46. To sleeve member 50 is also secured by means ofa key 56 a Geneva wheel 58 which is actuated by :1 Geneva arm 60carrying a roller 62 which engages with slots 64 of said Geneva wheel58. Geneva arm 69 is suitably secured to the continuously rotating driveshaft 26.

Integral with Geneva wheel 58 is a pair of spaced discs 66 which carryone roller 68 which in turn engages with slots 70 of a Geneva wheel 72mounted on a shaft 74 supported by a suitable bearing in the housing 36.On shaft 74 is also mounted a gear 76 meshing with an intermediate gear78 which in turn meshes with a gear 80 mounted on the fluted drumsupporting shaft 82 which is also supported by suitable bearings in thehousing 62.

The intermediate gear 78 is rotatably supported by a suitable stud shaft84 held by the housing 36. Through the connection thus described it isevident that one rotation of shaft 46, which consists of six (6)intermittent steps, will effect a partial rotation of the drum 14 equalto the distance of the spacing of the center lines of two adjacentfluted pockets 16. An adjusting screw 45 holds a shoe carried by shaft46 firmly against the barrel 18.

By loosening screw 45 the barrel 18 may be moved axially for fineadjustment of the correct line to which the leading end of the filterplug rod will be moved.

The operation of my apparatus may be briefly described as follows:

The sextuple length mouthpieces M move down the hopper 10 under themetering baffle 12 towards the open end of the hopper where they fallinto the flutes 16 of the drum 14 exposed to the open end of the hopperas the drum 14 rotates intermittently in the direction of the arrow. Thedrum 14 carries the individual sextuple lengths of mouthpiece materialupwardly to the feeding station B. At this station the shaft 46,carrying the barrel 18, is reciprocated lengthwise by drum cam 28,thereby causing one of the lugs 20, which is immediately behind themouthpiece material to be advanced a predetermined distancecorresponding to the length of the mouthpiece to be fed. When the lug 20is advanced in this manner the leading end of the mouthpiece material ispushed into the conical ledger tube 21.

The barrel 18 is then rotated by means of the Geneva wheel 58, so as tobring the next adjoining radially ex tending lug 20 up behind the end ofthe advanced multiple mouthpiece. The barrel 18 is then againreciprocated by means of the drum cam 28 and again the multiple lengthmouthpiece is advanced through the ledger tube 21 a distancecorresponding to the length of a desired mouthpiece. This causes theleading end of the mouthpiece material previously pushed into the ledgertube 21 to be advanced one desired mouthpiece length, to leave theledger tube 21 and enter one of the mouthpiece carrying bushings 24 ofthe disc 22. After the mouthpiece material has been advanced in thismanner, the cutoff knife 23 descends and severs the leading end of themouthpiece material adjacent the ledger 21 by passing through themouthpiece material between the bushing 24 and the ledger tube 21. Thisresults in severing the desired length of mouthpiece material from therod.

The barrel 18 is then rotated again by the Geneva 58 to bring the nextadjacent lug behind the end of the multiple length mouthpiece material.Simultaneously with such intermittent rotation of the barrel 18, themouthpiece carrying disc 22 is advanced one step to bring the nextsucceeding bushing into mouthpiece receiving position at station E. Thenext adjacent lug 20 formed on the barrel 18 is advanced when the shaft46 is reciprocated by the drum cam 28 to push the leading end of themultiple length of mouthpiece material into the next bushing 24 bymoving the mouthpiece material along the flute 16. The knife 23 is thenactuated to sever a section of mouthpiece material from the leading endof the multiple length mouthpiece.

The process is then repeated. The Geneva 58 rotates the lug feedingbarrel 18 one step and, simultaneously, through suitable gearingconnections, causes the disc 22 carrying bushing 24 to advance the nextbushing into plug receiving position. When the next plug receivingbushing has been located in plug receiving position, the next succeedingspirally arranged staggered lug 20 will also be in position behind themultiple length of mouthpiece material. When the cam through shaft 46and barrel 18 reciprocates the ing 20 it advances the leading end of themultiple length of mouthpiece material into the bushing 24,

As previously stated, the distance the barrel 18 is reciprocatedcorresponds substantially to the length of a single mouthpiece. Theknife 23 then severs the leading end of the multiple length ofmouthpiece material from the balance of the mouthpiece material.

This process is repeated until the entire length of mouthpiece materialhas been advanced along the flute 16 of feed drum 14. The last sectionof mouthpiece material is engaged by the leading end of lug 25 which hasa slight projection for pushing the end of this plug material clear ofthe fluted drum 14 so as to allow a slight clearance between the end ofthe plug and the side of the fluted drum 14.

It will be appreciated that while I have shown how a sextuple length ofmouthpiece material may be divided into six (6) equal parts, it couldjust as readily be divided into three double lengths by changing theconfiguration of the drum cam 28 to provide a longer throw of the shaft46, and, also, to eliminate three lugs from the drum 18. Similarly, theGeneva drives would be similarly changed to rotate the drums 14, barrel18, and disc 22 in timed relationship with one another.

When one multiple sextuple length of mouthpiece material has beencompletely advanced through the fluted drum 14, the Geneva '72 is thenrotated by means of the roller 68 so as to advance the next succeedingflute into mouthpiece feeding position, and then the process justdescribed is again repeated.

It will be noted from the foregoing brief description of the inventionthat by combining rotary movement of a member having staggered feedinglugs thereon with a reciprocating movement of the drum carrying thestaggered lugs, it is not necessary to have driving and feedingmechanism which extends over a large area. This particular designpermits a very compact apparatus to be made. It will further be notedthat a slight clearance is allowed between the lugs and the end of themouthpiece material so as to readily permit the barrel 18 to be rotatedwithout having the lugs 20 engage with the end of the mouthpiecematerial until the lug is reciprocated by means of the drum cam 28 andfor determination of actual transport length. By employing a drum cam 28which reciprocates the lugs and by positioning the lugs at the desiredposition, all of the filter plugs are of the correct length and there isno accumulation of errors that might result from the mouthpieces varyingslightly in length from one another.

The invention hereinabove described may be varied in construction withinthe scope of the claims, for the particular device selected toillustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of thesame. The

invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the precise details ofthe structure shown and described.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for feeding multiple lengths of mouthpiece materialcomprising a fluted drum, a source of supply of-multiple 'leng'thso'fmouthpiece material, means for delivering and depositing one of suchmultiple lengths of mouthpiece .material into each of ,the ,flutes .ofsaid fluted drum, means 'foriinterrnittently rotating said [fluted drumto bring aflute into alignment with aplug cutting station, .a drum havng Stag ered lugs extending radially from the surface of said drum,.means for intermittently reciprocating said lugtcarrying drum .to moveone ;of said lugs .adistance corresponding substantially .to the lengthof ,a mouthpiece along :said fflute to advance .said .multiple length ofmouthpiece material :towards .said severing station, -meansfor.-rotating said plug feeding drum to bring the next succeeding lug up.behind -the remaining portion of .the multiple :length of mouthpiecematerial to advance the .mouthpiece .material another mouthpiece length-.to push .the :leading :end .thereof into a plug receiving .conveyor,and a .knife for severing the leading plug from said multiple lengthmouthpiece to permit :it to he removed by .s aid conveyor.

v2. .Apparatus .for feeding multiple lengths :of mouthpiece materialcomprising .a :fluted drum, means -.for deliveringiindividual .lengthsofmultiple :length mouthpiece material do -the flutes of :said flutedadrum, .a;s econd ,d-rum having spirally arranged projecting zlugsmounted on -the surfacecfsaid-second drum, means for reciprocating saidsecond .drum axially zto move 1 one !Of said lugs along the fluted.sectiomof saidtfirst ,drum to radvance 'a-filter mouthpiece t-along thelength :thereof, means -for;rotating said seconddrumtotbring-the nextsucceedinggfeedingflugtinto position behind .said multiple lengthmouthpiece; material, and .means for advancing said lug to :move ,said:multiple length mouthpiece :material axially {toward :a :severingstation ,the distance corresponding :to the length of .a mouthpiece,means for :severing the leading .end :of. said severed mouthpiece,- andamouthpieceireceiving:conveyor for receiving :and {conveying {each:section of mouthpiece material as it is severed.

3. Apparatus having the features provided for in claim 2wherein-:meanszare provided for intermittently rotating said fluteddrumeach timera multiple length mouthpiece has been completely fedthrough the, flutes of said,drum.

-4. Apparatus for feeding multiple j'lengths ofmouthpiece materialcomprising a fluted drum, means for depositing multiple lengths ofmouthpiece material into the flutes of said drum, a secondintermittently reciprocating drum for axially moving a multiple lengthof mouthpiece material along a flute of said fluted drum, means movingsaid second drum axially to advance the remaining multiple length ofmouthpiece material supported in the flutes of said drum towards acut-off station, each axial reciprocation of said second drum beingsubstantially equal to the length of a single mouthpiece and along thesame predetermined path of travel, spirally arranged lugs projectingfrom said second drum, means for rotating said second drum to bring thespirally arranged lugs into successive feeding position behind theremaining end of the multiple length mouthpiece material each time saidsecond drum is reciprocated, means for cutting ofl a mouthpiece from theleading end of said multiple length of mouthpiece material, a mouthpiecereceiving conveyor for receiving each piece of mouthpiece as it issevered, and means for intermittently rotating said fluted drum eachtime a multiple length of mouthpiece material has been completely fedthrough the flute of said drum to bring a new multiple length ofmouthpiece material into feeding position.

5. The method of feeding multiple lengths of mouthpiece material andsubdividing them into subdivisions of equal length which comprisesfeeding said multiple lengths laterally by indexing into alignment witha severing station, adva cing n o s d m ip e lengths of u hpiecematerialQaxially by a member reciprocably .moving a distancesubstantially equal to the length of a subdivision and along the lengththereof and revolving said member to bring successive pushing membersactuated by said reciprocating member .into engagement with .theremaining end of the multiple length mouthpiece material to continue thestep by-step advancement of said mouthpiece material untilthe entirelength of said rod has "been fed to the severing station, revolving thenext succeeding multiple length of mouthpiece material into position infront of said severing station, and then repeating said feeding andsubdividing operation.

6 Apparatus for feeding and subdividing multiple lengths of mouthpiecematerial into subdivisions ofequal length comprising a ;flut ed drum,means for depositing multiple lengths of mouthpiece material into theflutes of said fluted drum, a cutrotf position adjacent the path oftravel of said flutedsdrum, a drive for intermittently rotating .saidfluted drum to bring a multiple length of mouthpiece mate ial intoalignment with said cut-off, a second drum Positioned adjacent saidfirst drum and jhavingtheaxis thereof aligned parallel with the axis ofthe first drum, adriveifor said second drum for intermittently rotatingsaid second drum, mechanism for reciprocatingsaid-.dliumfl,distancecorresponding to the length desired of subdividedmouthpiece material, lugs projecting from said seeonddrumandarranged instaggered relationship around the .periphery thereof each lug beingstaggered lengthwise along the axis of said second drum a distancecorrespQnding substantially to the desired length of a severedmouthpiecesubdivision, means for rotating said seconddrum after eachreciprocation and severing operationadistancetohring the next succeedinglug up behind the ,end ,of .the,r.emainingmultiple length of mouthpiecematerial, mechanism-to continue said intermittent reciprocation androtation to feed themultiple length 1 of ,mouthpiecematerialin stagesequal to thelength of the mouthpiece untilihe entire length thereof hasbeen subdivided, andlactuating mechanism for revolvingsaid fluted drum t.bring the .next .fiute in front of the severing station afterthe-preceding multiple length of mouthpiece material hasbeen.cornpletely subdivided.

7. Apparatus for feeding and subdividing multiple lengths -,ofmouthpiece material comprising a cylindrical conveyorfor supportingmultiple lengths of mouthpiece materiahonthe periphery thereof, asevering stationpositioned adjacent said conveyor, troughs mounted onsaid conveyor for positioning an individual multiple length ofmouthpiece material in front of a severing station, a second feedconveyor positioned adjacent said severing station, lugs projecting fromthe said second conveyor, said lugs being staggered from each otheralong the length of said second conveyor a distance equal tosubstantially the length of each subdivided length of mouthpiecematerial, means for reciprocating said second conveyor a distance equalsubstantially to the length of a severed subdivision of mouthpiecematerial, and means for rotating said second conveyor after eachreciprocation to bring a succeeding lug into feeding position behind theend of the remaining length of multiple mouthpiece material.

8. Apparatus for subdividing multiple length mouthpieces intosubdivisions of equal length comprising a severing station, a barrelshaped cylinder for supporting a plurality of multiple lengths ofmouthpiece material around the periphery thereof, means for indexingsaid barrel to position a multiple length of mouthpiece material endwisein front of said severing station, a guide for confining said multiplelength to lengthwise movement towards said severing station, a feedingdevice, nonaligned lugs projecting radially from around the periphery ofsaid feeding device, said lugs being spaced axially along the length ofsaid reciprocating member from each other a distance correspondingsubstantially to the length a of a subdivided mouthpiece, a drive forreciprocating said feeding device a distance equal substantially to thelength of a subdivided mouthpiece, and means for rotating said feedingdevice after each reciprocation to bring the next succeeding lug upbehind the remaining length of the multiple length of mouthpiecematerial prior to the next reciprocation of said feeding device.

9. Apparatus having the features provided for in claim 8 wherein meansare provided for operatingsaid indexing means each time a new length ofmultiple length mouthpiece material has to be placed into feedingposition after -the preceding multiple length of mouthpiece material hasbeen completely subdivided.

10. Apparatus for subdividing multiple lengths of mouthpiece materialcomprising a conveyor, multiple length mouthpiece supporting troughsextending around the circumference of said conveyor and having the axisthereof parallel to the axis of said conveyor, an intermittent drive foradvancing said conveyor laterally stepby-step to move succeedingmultiple lengths of mouthpiece material carried in said troughs in frontof a severing station, a feed device positioned adjacent said severingstation and adjacent said troughs, lugs extending from the periphery ofsaid feed device, said lugs being staggered and spaced from each otherlengthwise along the length of said second feeder a distancesubstantially equal to the length of a subdivided mouthpiece, means forreciprocating said feed device to cause 2. lug to advance said multiplelength mouthpiece material toward said severing station the length ofone subdivision, separate means for intermittently rotating said feedconveyor so that the next succeeding feeding lug will be brought upbehind the remaining end of the multiple length of mouthpiece materialafter each reciprocation of said feed device.

ll. A device for feeding a length of multiple mouthpiece material to asevering device comprising a feeding device having a combined rotary andreciprocating movement, said feeding device comprising a centralbarrelshaped member, means for reciprocating said central member adistance corresponding substantially to the length of a subdividedmouthpiece, lugs extending from the central member, the number of lugscorresponding to the number of subdivisions of the multiple length ofmouthpiece, means causing said feeding member to revolve after eachreciprocation to cause a lug to move up behind the end of the remainingend of mouthpiece material so that when the next reciprocation occursthe multiple length of mouthpiece material will be advanced the lengthof one mouthpiece.

12. Apparatus for subdividing multiple lengths of mouthpiece materialcomprising a fluted drum, means for depositing multiple lengths ofmouthpiece material into the flutes of said fluted drum, a cut-off, areciprocating member positioned in front of said cut-off to advance amultiple length of mouthpiece material step-by-step toward said cut-offalong said flute, feeding lugs radially projecting from the periphery ofsaid feeding member, said feeding lugs being positioned along the axisof said feeding member and separated from each other a distancecorresponding to the length of a subdivided mouthpiece material, meansfor rotating said member after each reciprocation to bring the nextsucceeding lug up behind the end of the remaining length of mouthpiecematerial preliminary to the reciprocatory movement of said feedingmember to advance said multiple length mouthpiece material toward saidcut-off.

13. Apparatus for subdividing a multiple length of mouthpiece materialinto equal lengths or subdivisions having the features provided for inclaim 12 wherein circumferential grooves are formed in said fluted drumto permit the lug moving into position behind the end of a multiplelength of mouthpiece material to pass across the flute of said drum.

14. Apparatus for subdividing multiple lengths of mouthpiece materialinto subdivisions of equal length comprising a revolver for laterallymoving multiple lengths of mouthpiece material, a severing station infront of which a multiple length of mouthpiece material is positioned, acutting knife positioned adjacent said severing station, a feedingmember for advancing the multiple length of mouthpiece materiallengthwise a distance corresponding to the length of a subdividedsection of mouthpiece material, feeding lugs positioned in staggeredrelation along the length of said feeding member the distance saidadjoining members are positioned from each other corresponding to thedistance of a subdivided length of mouthpiece material, means forreciprocating said central feeding member, and means for rotating saidmember after each reciprocation to bring the next adjoining lug upbehind the end of a multiple length of mouthpiece material preliminaryto the next reciprocating movement of said central feeding member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

